Event-Related Brain Potentials and Psychology Course Mean Examination Grades

Abstract

Since 1965 research into the event-related brain potentials of the human electroencephalogram suggests that these EEG components are closely related to human information-processing activities. In this study were tested 21 normal adult university students (12 women, 9 men, ages 19 to 51 years) from the Alaskan subarctic, using both the auditory and visual event-related potential oddball paradigms. The event-related brain potential recordings were analyzed as explanatory variables of academic performance, as measured by the mean of a series of multiple-choice examinations covering lecture and text material. No high association between these brain electrophysiological measures and students' academic performance was observed. At best, one component explained 27.6% of the variation in mean examination grades.